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Press Releases
James Conlon Announces Programs and Artists for His Final Season as Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival, May 20-28
James Conlon, Music Director of the Cincinnati May Festival, announces the programs and artists for the 2016 Cincinnati May Festival, scheduled for May 20-28, 2016, the final May Festival in his extraordinary 37-year tenure as Music Director. Mr. Conlon is the longest-serving artistic leader in May Festival history, and among the longest-tenured music directors of any major classical music institution in the country. The 2016 May Festival pays homage to Mr. Conlon’s unprecedented tenure, with programs that recall artistic milestones and audience favorites from the past four decades. The annual choral festival dates back 143 years, and features the volunteer May Festival Chorus and the acclaimed Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO). After this season, Mr. Conlon will be named May Festival Music Director Laureate and continue to have a presence conducting in Cincinnati both with the May Festival and the CSO.
“As I complete almost four decades as Music Director of the May Festival and working with the Chorus and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, I decided to program a Festival that would invoke some of my fondest memories of Cincinnati,” said Mr. Conlon. “Each selection of this year’s May Festival resonates in a special way with audiences, guest artists and the storied history of the Festival.”
The 2016 May Festival will also be the final Festival (and the final performances by any organization) to take place in Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall prior to its planned renovation. The 2017 May Festival will take place at the Taft Theatre in downtown Cincinnati while Music Hall is under construction, while the 2018 May Festival will be back in a newly-revitalized Music Hall.
Festival Highlights Highlights of the 2016 May Festival include a powerful all-Mozart opening performance culminating with the composer’s Mass in C minor, as well as Verdi’s Otello, a favorite of Mr. Conlon’s. The Festival closes with Mendelssohn’s epic masterpiece, Elijah.
The Festival will also include Dvorák’s Stabat Mater, the work Mr. Conlon conducted at his May Festival debut in 1978 at the invitation of then-Music Director James Levine. The annual and much-loved concert at Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, will feature works commissioned for the occasion of Mr. Conlon’s final season.
Several of the world’s rising vocal stars and established greats make their May Festival debuts this season, including Lisette Oropesa, Elizabeth DeShong, Gregory Kunde, Tamara Wilson, Egils Silins, Julianna DiGiacomo, and Anthony Dean Griffey, while many more Festival favorites return, such as Sara Murphy, Ben Bliss, Rodrick Dixon, Kristinn Sigmundsson and John Cheek (who has been a regular guest of the May Festival since 1977 under James Levine).
2016 Cincinnati May Festival Program
8 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall The 2016 May Festival kicks off on Friday, May 20 at Cincinnati Music Hall with Mozart’s exquisite “Great” Mass in C minor. With its grandiose choruses, pristine virtuosity for soloists and soaring expressiveness, this is one of the composer’s most-beloved works. Also on the program are Mozart’s Ave verum corpus and Exsultate jubilate. Soprano Lisette Oropesa, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, tenor Ben Bliss and baritone John Cheek bring their artistry to these masterpieces along with the May Festival Chorus and CSO.
8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall On the second day of the Festival, jealousy, deceit and passion fuel Verdi’s epic Otello. Mr. Conlon has long held an affinity for Verdi’s operas, and first conducted a complete Otello with the May Festival in 1987. Bringing Shakespeare’s characters to life alongside the May Festival Chorus and CSO are tenor Gregory Kunde (Otello), soprano Tamara Wilson (Desdemona), baritone Egils Silins (Iago), tenor Ben Bliss (Cassio), mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy (Emilia), tenor Rodrick Dixon (Roderigo) and baritone John Cheek (Lodovico, Montano, the Herald).
8 p.m. Sunday, May 22, 2016—Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption Mr. Conlon and May Festival Youth Chorus director James Bagwell both conduct this annual performance at one of the country’s most exquisite spaces, the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky. This concert remains a regular favorite of the May Festival since introduced by Mr. Conlon in 1980. On the program are commissioned works by Julia Adolphe and Alvin Singleton, nodding to Mr. Conlon’s longstanding championship of new works and contemporary composers. Ms. Adolphe, hailed as being “alive with invention,” (The New Yorker) has burst onto the compositional scene with works ranging from chamber operas to orchestral pieces, and recently co-produced The Prodigal Son, conducted by Mr. Conlon at the LA Opera. Mr. Singleton, a lifelong friend of Mr. Conlon’s, previously composed PraiseMaker in honor of the May Festival’s 125th anniversary in 1998. The May Festival Youth Chorus performs along with the May Festival Chorus.
8 p.m. Friday, May 27, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall Dvorák’s deeply personal cantata, Stabat Mater, was written during a time of deep grief for the composer following the death of his daughter. This rarely-performed work is full of symbolism, following a journey of mourning to hope of Paradise. At the invitation of James Levine, Mr. Conlon made his May Festival debut in 1978 conducting Stabat Mater. Joining the CSO and May Festival Chorus will be soloists Julianna DiGiacomo (soprano), Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo-soprano), Anthony Dean Griffey (tenor) and Kristinn Sigmundsson (baritone).
8 p.m. Saturday, May 28, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall The 2016 May Festival with one of the most epic works ever written for chorus, Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Performed at the second ever May Festival and telling the fiery tale of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah has remained a favorite among musicians, critics and audiences. Finally, Mr. Conlon completes the Festival with a traditional rendition “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. Joining the May Festival Chorus and CSO on this program are soprano Julianna DiGiacomo, mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and baritone Egils Silins.
WGUC broadcasts Beginning Sunday, October 4, re-experience May Festival 2015. Each of last season’s May Festival performances at Music Hall will be broadcast on Sunday evenings in October at 8 p.m. on 90.9 WGUC, Cincinnati’s classical music radio station.
Supertitles Supertitles will be provided for each of the four Music Hall performances (May 20, 21, 27 & 28), enabling concertgoers to more easily follow the stories and enhancing their Festival experience. Supertitles are made possible by a grant from The Corbett Foundation.
Ticket Information Four-concert subscriptions start at $88. Subscription sales begin October 5, 2015. For more information, please call 513.381.3300. Single tickets will be available beginning March 10, 2016.
“As I complete almost four decades as Music Director of the May Festival and working with the Chorus and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, I decided to program a Festival that would invoke some of my fondest memories of Cincinnati,” said Mr. Conlon. “Each selection of this year’s May Festival resonates in a special way with audiences, guest artists and the storied history of the Festival.”
The 2016 May Festival will also be the final Festival (and the final performances by any organization) to take place in Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall prior to its planned renovation. The 2017 May Festival will take place at the Taft Theatre in downtown Cincinnati while Music Hall is under construction, while the 2018 May Festival will be back in a newly-revitalized Music Hall.
Festival Highlights Highlights of the 2016 May Festival include a powerful all-Mozart opening performance culminating with the composer’s Mass in C minor, as well as Verdi’s Otello, a favorite of Mr. Conlon’s. The Festival closes with Mendelssohn’s epic masterpiece, Elijah.
The Festival will also include Dvorák’s Stabat Mater, the work Mr. Conlon conducted at his May Festival debut in 1978 at the invitation of then-Music Director James Levine. The annual and much-loved concert at Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky, will feature works commissioned for the occasion of Mr. Conlon’s final season.
Several of the world’s rising vocal stars and established greats make their May Festival debuts this season, including Lisette Oropesa, Elizabeth DeShong, Gregory Kunde, Tamara Wilson, Egils Silins, Julianna DiGiacomo, and Anthony Dean Griffey, while many more Festival favorites return, such as Sara Murphy, Ben Bliss, Rodrick Dixon, Kristinn Sigmundsson and John Cheek (who has been a regular guest of the May Festival since 1977 under James Levine).
2016 Cincinnati May Festival Program
8 p.m. Friday, May 20, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall The 2016 May Festival kicks off on Friday, May 20 at Cincinnati Music Hall with Mozart’s exquisite “Great” Mass in C minor. With its grandiose choruses, pristine virtuosity for soloists and soaring expressiveness, this is one of the composer’s most-beloved works. Also on the program are Mozart’s Ave verum corpus and Exsultate jubilate. Soprano Lisette Oropesa, mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, tenor Ben Bliss and baritone John Cheek bring their artistry to these masterpieces along with the May Festival Chorus and CSO.
8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall On the second day of the Festival, jealousy, deceit and passion fuel Verdi’s epic Otello. Mr. Conlon has long held an affinity for Verdi’s operas, and first conducted a complete Otello with the May Festival in 1987. Bringing Shakespeare’s characters to life alongside the May Festival Chorus and CSO are tenor Gregory Kunde (Otello), soprano Tamara Wilson (Desdemona), baritone Egils Silins (Iago), tenor Ben Bliss (Cassio), mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy (Emilia), tenor Rodrick Dixon (Roderigo) and baritone John Cheek (Lodovico, Montano, the Herald).
8 p.m. Sunday, May 22, 2016—Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption Mr. Conlon and May Festival Youth Chorus director James Bagwell both conduct this annual performance at one of the country’s most exquisite spaces, the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington, Kentucky. This concert remains a regular favorite of the May Festival since introduced by Mr. Conlon in 1980. On the program are commissioned works by Julia Adolphe and Alvin Singleton, nodding to Mr. Conlon’s longstanding championship of new works and contemporary composers. Ms. Adolphe, hailed as being “alive with invention,” (The New Yorker) has burst onto the compositional scene with works ranging from chamber operas to orchestral pieces, and recently co-produced The Prodigal Son, conducted by Mr. Conlon at the LA Opera. Mr. Singleton, a lifelong friend of Mr. Conlon’s, previously composed PraiseMaker in honor of the May Festival’s 125th anniversary in 1998. The May Festival Youth Chorus performs along with the May Festival Chorus.
8 p.m. Friday, May 27, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall Dvorák’s deeply personal cantata, Stabat Mater, was written during a time of deep grief for the composer following the death of his daughter. This rarely-performed work is full of symbolism, following a journey of mourning to hope of Paradise. At the invitation of James Levine, Mr. Conlon made his May Festival debut in 1978 conducting Stabat Mater. Joining the CSO and May Festival Chorus will be soloists Julianna DiGiacomo (soprano), Elizabeth DeShong (mezzo-soprano), Anthony Dean Griffey (tenor) and Kristinn Sigmundsson (baritone).
8 p.m. Saturday, May 28, 2016—Cincinnati Music Hall The 2016 May Festival with one of the most epic works ever written for chorus, Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Performed at the second ever May Festival and telling the fiery tale of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah has remained a favorite among musicians, critics and audiences. Finally, Mr. Conlon completes the Festival with a traditional rendition “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah. Joining the May Festival Chorus and CSO on this program are soprano Julianna DiGiacomo, mezzo-soprano Sara Murphy, tenor Anthony Dean Griffey and baritone Egils Silins.
WGUC broadcasts Beginning Sunday, October 4, re-experience May Festival 2015. Each of last season’s May Festival performances at Music Hall will be broadcast on Sunday evenings in October at 8 p.m. on 90.9 WGUC, Cincinnati’s classical music radio station.
Supertitles Supertitles will be provided for each of the four Music Hall performances (May 20, 21, 27 & 28), enabling concertgoers to more easily follow the stories and enhancing their Festival experience. Supertitles are made possible by a grant from The Corbett Foundation.
Ticket Information Four-concert subscriptions start at $88. Subscription sales begin October 5, 2015. For more information, please call 513.381.3300. Single tickets will be available beginning March 10, 2016.
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